California Memories
by omgitsmrshenderson
Summary: You grew up with two best friends - James Maslow and Patricia Fade. When James moved to LA to pursue his career, there's nothing more you miss than him. But when James comes back home to visit for the summer who knows what's in store.
1. Chapter 1

_California Memories -_

_You grew up with two best friends - James Maslow and Patricia Fade. When James moved to LA to pursue his career, there's nothing more you miss than him. But when James comes back home to visit for the summer who knows what's in store._

**Chapter One:**

"I heard there's a sale on Beach Bench. 50% of everything in the store," Patricia said, skipping next to me.

I sighed as I tied my hair up in a high pony tail, feeling coolness on my bare neck. "Are they closing or what?" I asked as I walked up the driveway of my house.

Patricia shrugged. "Who cares? It's times like this where you don't question it."

"I'm home," I shouted as I walked up the front steps to my house. I opened the front door and wiped sweat off my brow. The sun was shining bright today and it was only the 15th of July. Patricia followed in behind me before I closed the door and flung myself on the couch.

My mom appears at the doorway of our kitchen and smiles at me. She wipes her hands on her apron before leaning on the side. "Charlie, I'm glad you're home. Ah, Patricia, you're here too. This is great."

"Pat's always with me, Mom," I wrinkled my nose. "What's - "

"There's someone here for the summer who wants to see you two," my mom says, the grin not leaving her face.

I looked over to Patricia and bit my lip nervously. "We didn't do anything wrong the past year or so, did we?" I asked quietly under my breath.

"I don't think so," she whispered back. Her eyes sudden widen and I turned around to see a tall, fit brunette stand next to my mom. "Dibs," Patricia whispered to me. I was too in awe to shoot her a glare.

He had hazel eyes, his brown hair was softly tousled as he stood there, smiling and showing us his perfect pearls. He wore a tight tank top, just tight enough for me to see the top of his abs.

"Uh, hi," I said lamely. There was no way I knew him or he knew me. No absolutely fucking way. He looked like a frigging Goddess!

"He's staying here for the summer and I suggested for him to stay at our house since we're kind of like family." Family? No no no. I didn't want him to be family. I wanted him to be my boyf -

"Hey CJ," he smiles again then shifts his glance over to Patricia. "Hey Pat."

CJ. It stood for Charlotte Johnson - my full name. But … only one person called me that and that one person moved to LA and became a singer in a band but - I stopped short looked back at the brunette with wide eyes. "James?" I whispered.

"Did you forget me or something? What, did you find another guy in your life?" He laughs walking over to us and giving me a big hug. I immediately felt insecure because here he was, one of my childhood friends looking finer than ever and I was sweating like a kid at the beach. Darn California and the hot sun. I probably smelt like a dead horse on August whereas he smelt like … heaven.

"Woah, woah, woah." Patricia held up a hand. "James? The James who could scarf down five pies in five minutes?"

"The one and only," James replied, nodding. "In the flesh."

"Boy, what happened to you?" Patricia asked, eyebrow raised as he gave her a hug. James laughs again before looking at both of us.

"You guys don't look too bad yourself."

"Why don't the three of you head out to the porch while I make some lemonade?" My mom speaks, reminding me we weren't alone.

"More than happy to," James said, his eyes gleaming as he wrapped his arms around the two of us. "C'mon, let's go talk about our memories together."

James opened the door and I walked out, the sun beaming on me once again. I sighed as I sat down on the porch steps. James sat down next to me where as Patricia sat on the step below.

_I grew up on California with James and Patricia by my side. I had met Patricia first with her mother and my mother meeting at the shopping mart. I still remember the way how I watched from behind my mother as she stood in the shopping cart, carefree and loud. Patricia, being the bold one, came over one day when I was out on the porch playing with my dolls._

_ "Nice Barbie," she had said._

_ "Thanks," I mumbled._

_ She sat down, dusted off imaginary lint off her pink polka dotted dress and pulled out her own doll instead. "But my Daisy Barbie is much better." So yeah, Patricia was kind of prissy and sassy ever since we were young._

_ James, however is a different story. _

_ I was swinging on the swing in the park when James sat down on the swing next to me. He smiled at me before he pumped his legs, the swing and wind bringing him higher. He was ten around that time and I could help but stare at him with interest until he noticed. He stopped his swing, his sandals scraping the sand until he came to a complete stop._

_ Unlike most people who would have gave me a weird look and went off somewhere else, James looked at me with great kindness and smiled. "Hi."_

_ "Hi."_

_ "I'm James."_

_ "I'm Charlotte."_

_ He looked at me with his big brown eyes then extended his hand. "Nice to meet cha'."_

_ "You look familiar," I pointed out._

_ "I'm in the San Diego Opera's production of La bohème," he replied, beaming._

_ Then Patricia pushed herself off the slide, walked over to me and shoved me off the swing. Meeting James was almost something I liked to call a miracle. To grow up alongside someone so confidant, so sure he was going to become famous. _

_ I still remember how in ninth grade and we were starting high school, James called me up with good news. "I got a agent!" James had exclaimed._

_ "For what?" I asked._

_ "So I can go into an acting career. Isn't that just great?"_

_ "I guess," I replied._

_ Next thing I knew, he had told me he wasn't attending grade 10. I was in my room, flicking through the TV as James told me over the phone his news._

_ "Why not?" I asked, frowning. "We were supposed to graduate together. You know, throw our hats up in the air and everything. Together."_

_ "I'm going to become an actor, CJ. Just watch me," he exclaimed._

_ James had big dreams and he believed that if you tried hard enough, you could do anything._

_ Then was the day he decided to go to LA. We stood outside my house, his car on the road, all packed up and ready to go. He had drove by to say one last goodbye. We stood on the sidewalk, my heart pounding._

_ "One day, you'll see me on TV, CJ," James said, his grin wide. "I can promise you that."_

_ "I'll miss you," I whispered._

_ "Me too," he said before he leaned down and kissed me on my cheek. He got in the car and left me there to recover from my broken heart all alone. I always was afraid he'd one day get bored with me and leave. And when he finally did, watching him leave was the most painful thing._

"So," James says, slapping his knee. "What have you two been up to since I was gone? Catch me up." He smiled.

"Um, well - " I started.

"I learned how to surf," Patricia interrupted.

James raises an eyebrow. "Really? That's impressive. You were such a klutz growing up." He looks over to me. "Do you remember when she cut off her crush's hair in seventh grade?"

I laugh, the memories flooding back. "What was his name? Matt … Mark … "

"Matthew!" James exclaims, making us dissolve in laughter.

"Okay, that is so the past." Patricia waves us off. "Anyways, last time I remember, you weren't always a surf God."

James nods, as his laughter dies off. He clears his throat. "Well, I'll have you know some girls I met when I was coming here asked for surfing lessons."

"You already went surfing?" I asked, frowning. He could have at least waited.

"Actually, not. The girls just assumed I did." He shrugged. "They assume everyone in Cali surfs. Do you?" He asks me.

"Um, well, actually - "

"No, she doesn't. She watched me when I learnt too. She's kind of a priss." Patricia rolls her eyes.

"Um, hello. I'm right here," I say, raising my eyebrow. The thing with Pat is that she acts all high-class when someone she likes or is good looking. I sometimes why I'm friends with her.

"So what were you planning to do over the summer?" James asked.

"Work?" I suggested, proud that I had at least one word into the conversation.

"Work?" James frowned. "Over the summer?"

"I need the money. Not everyone has money like you. I have school you know. University? Ever heard of a textbook? Those things cost tons." I raised an eyebrow.

"Alright, touché." James held his hands up in the air.

Patricia waved me off. "She's such a pain in the ass with her studies."

"Hey, don't say that about CJ. She's cute," James defends, hugging me close. Cute. Babies with snot and ice cream all over them were cute. Animals were cute. I didn't want to be cute. I wanted to be beautiful. I watched Pat's eyes flicker then shrugged. She got up and walked down my driveway.

"I've got things to do," she says as she walks off. "I'll leave you two love birds alone."

James didn't exactly hurry after her but instead he watched her leave. I watch as she climbed onto her blue bike and pedaled off home. I snuck a glance at James to see his reaction and he shrugged. "Being friends with Patricia, I learned something."

"And that is?"

"She has a short anger fuse and it's best to let her calm down on her own. I don't get why she got so upset though," James said, making me roll my eyes. Guys really were idiots. "Well, forget her."

"So, tell me about your adventure so far," I said, interested on what was about to come out of his mouth.


	2. Chapter 2

"And then we got the call that we'd be going on tour."

"Wow, tour," I replied.

"You wouldn't believe the number of people that showed up," James explained.

"Bet you're pretty confident now, huh?" I replied, giving him a smirk.

"Aw, c'mon, CJ. You know you're the only girl for me." He winks.

I felt my cheeks flush red. "So how was the tour? Where'd you go?"

"Great, we went to London and you could see the Big Ben. Oh, geez, Kendall said something about how it's not the clock that is called Big Ben … Something about the clock inside … " He waves me off. "Never mind."

"Hmm." I said, letting him know I was listening. We spent about an hour or so talking about his time around tour and all that. It just so happened that each girl that passed by, glanced at James, then shot a glare at me. Did people possibly think we were together? Hello? He _was Mr. Hottie-Who-Is-Famous _and I was _Miss. Girl-Who-Works-At-An-Ice-Cream-Store._ No matter how badly I wanted us to, we just didn't match up.

"And there was this cop dude who held his huuuuge gun," he said, stretching his arms out front to show me the size. "I was terrified."

"You? Terrified? Looking the way you do now?" I snorted.

He laughed. "Funny, CJ. More funny then you were in middle school."

"You learn things in high school," I replied. His eyes instantly filled with … with what? Regret? Sadness? Hope? I couldn't tell. He looked away from my eyes and at the ground, leaving an awkward silence in the air. Maybe I shouldn't have said that.

"I'm sorry I wasn't around for your high school graduation," he whispers so quietly, I almost didn't hear him.

"It's alright," I quickly said. "It's over now. It was only graduation."

"And you wanted to do it together and I ruined that." He looked up to me, staring into my eyes with his deep hazel eyes. "Sorry."

"Quit saying sorry. You did nothing wrong. You were following your dreams. We all were." I waved him off and looked out to the beach that was just not too far from my house. "Just drop it." Truth was, I was hurt that he wasn't around but I couldn't tell him that. Could I?

There's another awkward silence until I cleared my throat. One of my childhood friends came back to visit and I was going to take advantage of that. There was no reason to be moping around, sad from the past. "So tell me about your fans," I prodded, hoping my voice sounded normal and steady.

He blinks, looking at me until a smile creeps onto his face. "Most amazing fans in the world. They can get a little crazy but hey, I wouldn't be here without them."

"Crazy?" I wrinkled my nose. Oh, geez, did that mean I was crazy?

"Some. I got mobbed by one once in London."

"So, wait, you got mobbed by a fan in London? How?"

"She kind of hugged me and wouldn't let go. She actually tried to handcuff us together."

"Holy mother of cheese balls, were you alright?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Security was there so I guess I'm safe. Our fans can be very … " He pauses and thinks of a word. "… dedicated." He finished off.

I nodded as if I understood. Fans. He had fans. I thought back to my room which had a few posters of BTR that I found in a magazine. Would that be embarrassing if James saw? He probably never thought of me twice when he was surrounded by millions of pretty girls. I thought of the CD's and episode CD's sitting next to my small TV and stereo in my room. Would that be embarrassing?

Just then my mom comes out with a tray of lemonade. She smiles at the two of us then frowns. "Where's Patricia?"

"She left," I answered as I grabbed a glass.

"Why?" My mom asked, still frowning.

"She said she had other things to do," James said before me, shrugging. He reached for a glass as well and took a sip. "Girls, what can we do?" I gave him a light slap on his arm and couldn't help but notice his arms. Geez, he could rip mine off in a second. Yeesh, look at the size of those things. They're hu -

"CJ."

"Huh?" I blinked and lifted my eyes to meet his. "Yeah?"

He raised an eyebrow as he repeats what he said before. If the things in my room weren't embarrassing, this sure was. "I said, enough about me. What'd you and Patricia do while I was away?"

"I'd have to write a novel, James," I replied, giving him a look. "You weren't gone for a few weeks. You were gone for a few years."

"Now, now, give the boy a break," my mom speaks up, setting the tray down so we could grab a glass. "He went through a lot. He was much too busy to visit."

I rolled my eyes. It was so like her to defend James. "Whatever. I'm just saying, I can't sum up a few years in a few hours."

I felt his eyes on me as I looked down at my toenails which were painted a sky blue. I heard my mom walk back inside as I wiggled my toes until James clears his throat. "Alright then. How about you show me your room? I want to see if it's still the same as it was from before," he says, giving me a wary smile.

_Of course not_, I thought. _Now, it has your face + your band mates' faces on the walls_. I shrugged. "Sure." I stood from the porch, my glass of lemonade in my hand.

James stood up too and it was only then did I notice how tall he was. The guy was like a giant. I was up to his shoulder but he still looked very tall. I must have been staring because he looked at me and smiled. "What?"

"Nothing," I replied, shaking my head. "Nothing at all."

I pushed open the rickety door and sipped from my glass again as i walked down the smooth wood floor that covered the house. My mom sat in the living room, flipping through the newspaper with the TV on. I popped my head in to let her know we came in and she winked at me, nodding.

"Did my mom show you the guest room yet?" I asked, turning around slightly to look at him but didn't stop walking.

"Yeah, that's where my stuff is," he answers, smiling.

"Oh," I replied lamely. "Right. Why don't you go lie down for awhile as I - "

"So you can clean up and hide any secrets?" James asks, smirking. Yes! I screamed inside my head. I need to cover the posters and hide the CDs + DVD's. I knew that if James knew I was a fan, I'd never live it down. James would never let me. He'd boast and brag. I sighed. Glad to know he was back.

"No, I just want to … hide my bras and panties and such," I said, realizing what a ridiculous excuse that was and wished I could take it back.

Catching me by surprise, he leans down closer to me. "I don't mind," he whispers in my ear as I felt his hot breath on my neck.

I felt my cheeks flush before I swiftly turned from him. I stopped at my bedroom door and turned around once more to look at James. "Are you sure you don't want to rest for a little - "

"No," he replied immediately. "Let's see your room."

I sighed before pushing open the door slowly and flicking on the lights. I could see through my window that the sun was beginning to set. I walked over to my bed and take a seat, not ready for the conversation that was to happen. James steps into my room and glances around, a smirk forming on his face.

"Wow," he says, the smirk not leaving his face. He walks over to one of the posters that hung above my bed. "Doesn't that guy look oddly familiar?" He points to himself in the poster then looks back at me.

I glared at him. "Shut up."

"He's handsome, isn't he?" He asks, a teasing look in his eyes. "Tall, soft hair, brown eyes."

"Shut up, James."

"Saaaaay, isn't that fellow named James too? Maybe we're twins!" James teased.

"Okay, I like your little dumb band okay, there, I said it." I folded my arms across my chest. "I hope your satisfied."

"I am," James laughed. He walks over to the set of books that sat on my bedside table. He flips through the titles, reading them out loud. "_Oops, You Kidnapped my Heart, Rage, Hunted, Bittersweet Goodbyes_…" his voice trails off as he holds up a Harry Potter book. "That's a lot of pages. You sure you can handle it?"

"I've said it once, I've said it twice, I've said it three times - shut the f up, James."

"Feisty," he replied, raising an eyebrow.

There's a knock on my bedroom door causing us two to look up. "Hey you two," my mom's head pops in the doorway. "I found one of my old photo VCR's. I thought you guys would want to watch some."

"Sure, why not?" James says, holding open his arms so my mom could pass over the videos.

"And I've got a few photo albums if you'd like to see those too," my mom said, glancing at me.

I shrugged, standing up and taking the four or five photo album. "Thanks mom. You outdo yourself."

She blushes before waving me off. "I'm headed to bed now. Don't stay up too late, you two."

I nodded as I started going through the photo album. "Night."

"Good night, Ms. Johnson," James said, saluting to her. She chuckled quietly before closing the door behind her. He turns and faces me. "I forgot what a cool lady your mom is."

"My mom's always cool. I'm cool. You should have put two and two together," I joked, looking hack at the photos.

He snorts, making me glare at him. He ignores my look and shifts the box of VCR videos in his arms. "I think we should watch these tomorrow with Patricia when she's cooled off."

"Sure." I shrugged. I scanned the photos then doubled over laughing.

"What?" James asks, smiling as he set the box down near my bed before sitting next to me. He leans in close, his skin touching mine as he looked for what I was laughing at.

I ignored his arm that was still touching mine and pointed to a photo of James in diapers. "Oh, geez, your mom let us keep that when she came over for tea once, remember?"

"Oh my gosh," he muttered, hiding his face in his palms. "I'm ruined."

I turned the page and one photo of me in a diaper appeared. I tried to quickly turn the page but I was apparently too slow because James brought the page back down and laughed. "Oh, Geez, you were a chubby baby."

I blew a raspberry at him and turned the page. The two of us spent the night looking through several photos, laughing at the memories until James finally glanced at the clock and raised an eyebrow.

"It's late," James commented. "We should go to bed."

I yawned. "I am pretty tired."

He stands from my bed and stretched his (huge) arms out in front of him. "Alright," he says. He leans down and kissed me on the cheek. "Night, CJ. It was great to see you again."

I watched in awe as he made his way out of my room. What swag. How smooth. I sighed before replying. "Good night, James. Same to you."

I waited until I heard the click of his door before getting up to brush my teeth. Since his guest room has a washroom, I didn't expect him to come back out. He was probably changing right now … Out of his shirt, slooooowly zipping down his jeans then pulling them down - OKAY, I DON'T HAVE A LIFE. I NEED SLEEP. NOW.

I kicked my legs off the bed and quietly made my way to the washroom. I wonder if he has a girlfriend. He didn't act like he did.

I shook my head, my thoughts jumbled as I brush my teeth. Up, down, up, down. I wonder if he had to date one of us, Patricia or me, which one he'd date. I spat out the toothpaste and gurgled water in my mouth, cleaning the taste. I washed my face, feeling refreshed as I headed back to my room.

A good night's sleep. That's all that I wanted. It's all that I need.

….

I wonder if he's sleeping naked.


	3. Chapter 3

**James :**

I woke to the chirping seagulls outside of my window. I yawned, squinting at the sun that was shinning bright. I pushed my covers off and stretched, realizing I wasn't home. Well, I was, but at the same time, not really. I looked around the guest room more slowly. There wasn't much to see - plain cream walls, white drapes, some paintings.

I yawned again and swung my legs over the edge, making my way to washroom to clean up. I brushed my teeth, washed my face and took a quick shower before I made my way downstairs. The house was still and quiet as I entered the kitchen to see CJ's mother sitting by the kitchen table, reading the morning newspaper. She looks up, the identical brown eyes of CJ's staring at me. She smiled and I smiled back as I made my way towards the fridge.

"Morning, Ms. Johnson," I said, opening the cold fridge and glanced inside.

"Oh, James, you don't have to call me Ms. Johnson. Call me Danielle."

"My mama raised me with manners, Ms. Johnson," I said, looking up at her and smiled. "So good morning."

She sighs but rolls her eyes. "Morning James."

"CJ still asleep?" I asked, reaching in to grab the carton of milk.

"Actually, she's already at work," she replied, sipping her cup and raised an eyebrow.

"Really?" I wrinkled my nose. I reached inside the cupboard and grabbed a small bowl, placing it on the table. "Where does she work again?"

"That little ice cream shop down on the beach's boardwalk," Mrs. Johnson said, gesturing to the door.

"Maybe I'll go see her after I'm done breakfast."

"Good idea. Charlotte is always working, she forgets that she can have some fun sometimes."

"That's the CJ I know," I chuckled as I poured some cereal into the bowl and then milk.

It wasn't long before Ms. Johnson headed out for a jog and I was left in the house alone to chew on my whole grain cereal. I washed the dishes and changed into a blue t-shirt and some shorts before slipping out under the hot sun. I squinted my eyes and my eye caught two pairs of bikes that were leaning on their porch.

Hmm. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to borrow them. So I climbed on one of the blue bikes, pushed myself off the driveway and off I biked to the ice cream parlor.

I pushed open the door, the ding welcoming me. I saw CJ scoop some ice cream into a cone. Was it possible for a girl to look nice in a pink and white striped apron?

"Have a good day," CJ said as she gave a customer the ice cream cone.

"How much to get you off work?" I asked, approaching the table and slid a five dollar bill towards her.

She glanced at the money, then back up at me. "To get off work?"

"Yeah, c'mon. I just got here yesterday. Show me around. Introduce me to your friends."

"You grew up here, James. What's there to show you?" She wrinkled her nose and I laughed.

"Plenty of things. C'mon, let's go bike riding to Patricia's house and watch those VCR's we talked about yesterday."

She sighed, blowing a strand of her hair out of her face. "I can't just leave."

I looked at her, wrinkling my nose as I thought of a worth excuse of her leaving with me. I drummed my hands on the counter and looked around the place. It was busy, I'll admit that but it wasn't _that _busy. "Well, when are you off?"

"Around 3:00."

"I can wait till then," I said, sliding the bill closer to her. "Vanilla cone please with sprinkles."

She gave me a look but took the cash and entered the numbers into the cashier. "You're going to wait until I'm off shift?" She asked, raising her eyebrow as she grabbed a cone and began scooping ice cream.

"If I have to." I shrugged as she handed me the cone.

"You don't," she replied, leaning on the counter. A lady came from behind me and gave me a warm smile before approaching CJ and the counter. "How can I help you?"

At this point, I wasn't sure where my feelings stood for CJ, nevertheless for Patricia. Both girls were incredibly beautiful and my guess is that they've had plenty of boyfriends while I was gone. Well it's not like I was single the entire time. My mind wandered over to Halston, my most updated breakup. I shook my head. Vacation. I was on vacation. Determined to get CJ off shift, I leaned against the glass window covering the ice cream stand as I licked my cone.

I watched CJ finish serving the lady before glancing back at me. "You're still here?"

"I said I was going to wait until you were off work."

"Which is in five hours, in case you never noticed."

"Then five hours I shall wait," I said, shrugging. "Besides, I forgot the directions to Patricia's house."

"Oh," she replied, raising an eyebrow. "Is that why you're here? I can give you the address and - "

Back pedal, James. Back pedal. "No, no, I was just saying. It's another excuse for you to come with me."

"Well I can't."

"I don't remember you being so stubborn," I said, the words slipping out.

She turned around and glared at me. "Do you know what stubborn means?"

"Yeah," I said, trying my best to soothe her. "To be determined to change someone's point of view."

"Exactly. So technically, you're stubborn."

"Fine, you're ignorant," I said. Okay, James shut up now. But it was obviously too late.

"Yeah? Well you're arrogant," she spat. "Need I remind you that you've been gone for a couple of years? Just cause you're all famous now doesn't mean you can pop outta nowhere unexpectedly and assume I'm going to accept you with willing arms. You didn't even let me adjust to the idea, James." Another thing about CJ, she always says my name when she's peeved or upset. The place is suddenly dead quiet and I could feel everyone's eyes on us but CJ's eyes never left mine. I stared into her eyes, hoping for her to understand but all I saw was confusion.

"I just wanted you to come," I said quietly.

"I'll remind you again. Not everyone is frigging rich like you, James. I gotta earn money to pay for the textbooks I need."

"Sorry," I mumbled before I wandered to a nearby booth. It'd be best if I left her alone to cool off. I licked my cone, the coolness against my tongue. I glanced at CJ who was leaning across the counter and talking to a little kid. CJ was my best friend next to Logan, Kendall and Carlos. She was there for me while growing up. She encouraged me. If anyone knew me better, it'd be her.

I stared at her, hoping she'd look over so I could catch her eye. No such luck. She proceeded with her job, spooning ice cream into cups and cones. She was smiling. She liked her job as much as I liked mine. I sat at the booth, staring out at the beach as the waves crashed onto the shore. I loved living near the beach. It calmed me. So did surfing. I knew I had said the wrong thing to CJ just now. What I needed to do now was surf. I needed to clear my mind and relax.

I was in California after all. Might as well take advantage of it. I bit down on my cone, thinking to myself. My surf board. I wondered if it would still be at the Surf Shack, the place where you could rent boards. I finished up my cone and stood up. I suppose it was time to find out. I threw my trash in the garbage and pushed out the door, not looking at CJ once.

She was mad at me, I knew that. I wasn't sure if it was because of my 'stubborn' comment or the fact that I had returned.

I shoved my hands into my pockets and continued down the boardwalk. The sun was shining bright which would making surfing all the better.

"Hi."

I looked beside me and saw three girls grinning at me. One brunette, one redhead, one blonde. I smiled back. "Hey."

"You're James Maslow," the blonde one said. She didn't form it as a question but more of a statement. I answered it anyways.

"Yeah, that's me," I said, nodding. "How can I help you?"

The redhead giggled furiously. "Trust me, there are plenty of things you could help us with." She brushed my arm lightly and giggled again.

I gave them a wary glance and stood there awkwardly. How was I supposed to reply to that? I let out a awkward laugh and folded my arms across your chest. "If there's nothing else … "

"Oh, no, we just wanted to tell you you're sexy," the brunette said innocently. "That's all."

"Oh," I replied lamely. "Thank … you."

"Maybe we'll see you around." The blonde said. "Do you live around here?"

"Uh, I'm on vacation," I said, giving them a wary smile.

"Oh, vacation, how nice." The redhead beamed at me, leaned on my side. "Alone?"

"Uh, no. I'm here with my friends - "

"Kendall? Logan? Carlos?" The brunette asked, raising her eyebrow before looking around.

"Um, no. With my old school friends."

"Oh." The blonde said, her face blank. "In that case, we don't want to be wasting your time anymore. Bye, hunk." She winked at me before the three girls waltz off.

Well. That was quite a conversation. I walked towards the beach shack and leaned on the table, waiting for service.

"Well, I'll be darned. James?" I turned around and saw a guy around my age grin at me. "Man, it really is you!"

"Tristan?" I said the name, smiling. "How's it been?" Tristan was the owner son of Surf Shack and I wouldn't be surprised if he had the job now.

"Duuude, it's be awesome but now that you're here, the party can really start, huh?"

I laughed. "I was hoping you still had my board."

"Of course," Tristan nodded, hopping over the counter. He went to the back and grabbed a famillar blue board. He grinned as he handed it to me. "I've been keeping it in good hands. I knew you'd return one day."

"Thanks," I replied, feeling the smooth wood. I glanced out at the waves and made my way towards them. Hi, my name is James Maslow and I'm going to be riding you today.


	4. Chapter 4

I looked up at the ding of the bell, in hope of James returning. I didn't mean to snap at him eariler but he was asking for it. I sighed, wiping the counter. To be honest, I don't know why I got so upset.

"Uh, 'cuse me, miss. Can I order?"

"What? Oh yeah, sure," I said, snapping back to reality. "What do you want?"

As I spooned Cookie N Cream into a cone, I kind of regretted the way I treated him. James was my friend. One of my best friends. I couldn't keep getting frustrated and then taking out my anger on him. An image  
>of him appeared in my mind. Brown eyes, soft hair and the perfect shade of pink for his lips ...<p>

"How much do I have to pay?" The lady asked.

"Oh, um, $1.50," I said, punching in the numbers. The lady gave me the money with a shake of a head.

"Teenagers," she muttered. "Can I have a napkin, please?"

"Oh, yeah sure." I handed one to her and watched her walk away.

"Charlotte, you seem so distracted today." I swivel my head around to see my boss, Mary, standing at the doorway with her arms across her chest. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh, no." I shook my head. "I'm fine."

She pursued her lips, trying to figure me out. "It's that boy, isn't it? The one that came here earlier."

"No - " I tried to protest but Mary gave me a look that told me not to try. I sighed in defeat. "Kind of. I mean, I'm glad he's here and all - "

" - but you don't know your feelings for him," Mary finished.

I blinked. "I guess."

"Go look for him and sort it out. It's not that busy anyways," she said, glancing around as she ushered me out. "I can handle it."

"But - "

"No buts, go," she said, pointing to the door. I glanced at her then back at her door. She raised her eyebrows and pointed to the door again. "Go."

I smiled. "Thanks, Mary."

"No problem, kiddo," she said as I jogged out to the beach. Now, where would James be? I glanced around the boardwalk, then out at the waves.

Of course.

I jogged on the sand, serching for a familliar brunette. James, James, James. It wasn't long to find him. You could see a few people stopping and pointing to a tall figure that was tearing up the ocean with his surf board. Right away, I knew it was James. His strong and buff body glistened in the sunlight as he stood on top of his board, steadying himself. Without another word, I spotted his things laid out on a towel and I walked over, sitting down in the sand as I waited for his return.

"CJ?" James called out in surprised. I gave him a wary smile as he got closer to me. He stood his surfboard in the sand before sitting down next to me. The two of us sat in silence for a minute before James glanced over at me. "What happened to work?"

"Boss let me get off early," I replied, shrugging, not looking at him. James nodded, looking back out at the waves. I snuck a quick look at him, his hair all wet, covering his eyes. As if he read my mind, he swiped across the bangs, showing his brown hazel eyes. "Listen -"

"I just want - " Both of us paused. James let out a quiet laugh. "Sorry, you go ahead."

"I just wanted to apologize for the way I acted back in the parlor," I said, rubbing my arms as I glanced away. "I mean, i didn't really mean anything - well, I mean, I did but it came out a bit harsh - "

James laughed again, a bit uneasy. "It's alright, Charlotte. What I said wasn't exactly nice anyways." He paused. "But you were right. I didn't give you time to adjust and that's my fault."

"No, I - " I sighed. "Can we just forget this ever happened?" I asked.

James nodded. "I was just about to suggest the same thing." We sat through another quiet and awkward silence when James stood up and dusted sand off his trunks. "Want to go for a walk?"

"Yeah, sure," I said, knowing it wasn't really up for discussion. I stood up, adjusting my shirt before following him as he walked along the shore. "Hey, remember that one time when you fell asleep on your raft and you floated out to sea?" I asked, letting out a laugh at the thought.

"Oh God, yeah. Bad childhood memories. By the time anyone noticed, I was halfway out sea and was paddling back while crying to myself, vowing to never swim again."

"So much for that," I said, gesturing to his surf board as we walked further away from base.

"Yeah, well, I don't know. When I surf, I feel - I don't know. Free. It clears my mind." He shrugged. He looked over to me, amused. "Remember when I always used to throw you out in the ocean?"

"Wow, let's not talk about that because that was actually really terrifying. I mean, some people just joke around with that but to actually throw me?" I shook my head. When James didn't respond, I looked over to him, afraid i had messed up again but he was smirking and I wasn't sure if that was a good sign or bad.

"You know how to swim, right?"

"Yeah, why do you ask?" I cocked my head to the side when he suddenly reached over, grabbing onto my hips and tossing me over his shoulder as if I was a feather. "Oh. My. God, James. Let me down right now. Oh God. I fell like I'm going to pass out, wow, okay, let me down James, this isn't funny," I shouted, flinging myself around trying to wriggle free.

"COME ON, LET ME THROW YOU IN THE WATER. FOR OLD TIMES SAKE," James called.

"NO. HAVE YOU POSSIBLY LOST YOUR MIND ON TOUR?"

"MAYBE," he cried when I finally wrangled myself free, flying off his shoulder. I landed looking up to him as he lost his balance, toppling on top of me, his face inches away from mine. I held my breath as his eyes stared into mine.

James quickly pulled himself off of me and gave a wary laugh. "Hah," he said, dusting off the sand. "Sorry."

"No, no, it's fine," I quickly muttered, standing up as well.

"So, uh, my bandmates will be coming to Cali this weekend so maybe all six of us can hang out," James suggested. "Plus Pat which is like seven."

I shrugged, reminding myself things weren't the same anymore. "I guess."

"Hey, let's go eat at that new restaurant down the street. The one that sells seafood," he said, tugging on my arm.

"_Beach Deck?_" I asked. "That isn't new."

James frowned. "Well to me it is. Come on."

And then I realized something. I was scared of James. I was scared of _change._


End file.
